Mythic Era
The Mythic Era was the epoch dating from about 10,000 BR to the foundation of the Realm in 1 BR. It is by far one of the longest and least-detailed epochs, second only to the mysterious Dawn Era. Its name is derived from the fact that many cultures' recorded myths and legends date from this era. History The Mythic Era begins with the beginnings of recorded history, and the foundations of the cultures of elves, men, and dwarves. On the tropical continent of Enthuiah, two simian races known as the Ren and the Prim would wage a war of territory amongst each other. The stronger, taller, and more aggressive Ren would defeat the smaller and meeker Prim, and the two kinds would move to opposite ends of the continent to avoid each other for many ensuing millennia. The Tavi'il forest elves arrived on Enthuiah around 4000 BR. They are one of the first of the elves to leave the elven home-continent of Taranoth. The Tavi'il would come into contact with the native Ren, and began a brief peaceful exchange which resulted in them adopting the worship of the Archetype spirits which inhabited the jungle continent. This eventually formed the faith of the Way of the Woods, centered around Archetype worship. However, the Tavi'il and Ren eventually ended their relations on violent terms, likely warring over territory or food, and the Tavi'il's loss in the conflict led to their exodus to the northwest portion of Enthuiah. Sometime around 900 BR, Taranoth experienced a mysterious cataclysm which forces all of the elves on the continent to leave. It is theorized that Taranoth likely rested on a dormant super-volcano which erupted, sinking most of it beneath the sea and killing a large majority of the elven population. In 400 BR, the last of the elves of Taranoth made landfall on Enthuiah, landing near what would eventually become the city of Illithor. This elven force, composed of both Arathi'il high elves and Elkhazi'il dark elves, began colonizing the center of the continent, and quickly began warring with both the Ren and Prim natives. In order to attempt to halt elven advancement deeper into the continent, the Ren and Prim would create the Ren-Prim Confederacy, composed of all of the Ren and Prim tribes in the center and north of Enthuiah. However, it was to no avail, and the native races were quickly overwhelmed and defeated by the elves. With the Ren and Prim defeated and scattered, only one force on the continent remained to stand against the elves; their ancient kin, the Tavi'il. Hoping to spare their civilization from their warmongering kin, the Tavi'il cast a spell of protection around their island of Nilaraan, hiding them from the southern empire. After several centuries of colonization, elven expansion began to stretch further and further north. When the elves finally discovered another powerful elven empire already populating a portion of the continent, war was quickly declared between the two kinds. The high elves declared the Tavi'il's treatment of Precursor artifacts heresy and an affront to the Gods. When the War of the Founding truly began, the Tavi'il were well-equipped for the conflict, however, having been preparing for centuries while hiding from the foreign invaders, and gained an early edge in the war. However, mainly due to Arathi'il use of Precursor artifacts on the battlefield, the war ending relatively swiftly in a joint-Arathi'il and Elkhazi'il victory over the Tavi'il. However, instead of destroying their enemies, the Arathi'il invited the Tavi'il to join themselves and the Elkhazi'il, and to form a union between the three elven kinds, centered around the worship of the Precursors. The Oath of Pride is signed in Illithor and the three kinds christen their new empire "the Realm". The Arathi'il would retain the power over the clergy, as well as possessing the legislative castes and the supreme governmental position of Emperor. The Elkhazi'il would be the judicial caste as well as the main religious class, sharing the clergy with the high elves. The Tavi'il would be the military caste, sworn to protect the high elves forever. United, the Realm would gain both power and territory in the coming centuries, expanding across the known world. The signing of the Oath of Pride and the foundation of the Realm is considered the most notable event in modern history, and is the Realm Calendar's epoch. It is also the ending of the Mythic Era. Category:Eras